Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon

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Men's marathon
at the Games of the XIV Olympiad
Delfo Cabrera, Final de la Maraton de los Juegos Olimpicos de Londres (07-08-1948).jpg
Delfo Cabrera crossing the finish line
VenueStart and finish at Wembley Stadium
DatesAugust 7
Competitors41 from 21 nations
Winning time2:34:51.6
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Delfo Cabrera
Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina
Silver medal icon.svg Tom Richards
Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain
Bronze medal icon.svg Étienne Gailly
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
  1936
1952  
Official Video Highlights TV-icon-2.svg
Official Video Highlights

The men's marathon event at the 1948 Summer Olympic Games took place on August 7. Forty-one athletes from 21 nations competed. [1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The race was won by Delfo Cabrera of Argentina, the nation's second victory in three Games (though the victories were 16 years apart). [2] Tom Richards's silver medal put Great Britain on the podium for the third time in a row, while Étienne Gailly earned Belgium's first marathon medal with his bronze.

Reminiscent of Dorando Pietri's final-lap ordeal when the Olympics were held in the same city 40 years earlier, Gailly entered the London stadium in first place, but was exhausted and running very slowly. He was passed first by Cabrera, then by Richards, but managed to hold on for the bronze medal. South African Johannes Coleman, who finished 4th in this race, had placed 6th in the last Olympic marathon in Berlin twelve years earlier.

Background

This was the 11th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Returning runners from the pre-war 1936 marathon included sixth-place finisher Johannes Coleman of South Africa. There was no clear favorite, though Viljo Heino (world record holder in the 10,000 metres) "was considered someone to watch" as he made his marathon debut. [1]

Ireland, South Korea, and Turkey each made their first appearance in Olympic marathons. The United States made its 11th appearance, the only nation to have competed in each Olympic marathon to that point.

Competition format and course

As all Olympic marathons, the competition was a single race. The 1908 course (the first Olympic marathon at the now-standard marathon distance of 26 miles, 385 yards) was not used. Instead, a course was designed that "started and finished at Wembley Stadium, looping thru the London suburbs." [1]

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1948 Summer Olympics.

World recordFlag of South Korea.svg  Suh Yun-bok  (KOR)2:25:39 Boston, United States 19 April 1947
Olympic recordFlag of Japan.svg  Sohn Kee-chung  (JPN)2:29:19.2 Berlin, Germany 9 August 1936

No new world or Olympic bests were set during the competition.

Schedule

All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1)

DateTimeRound
Saturday, 7 August 194815:00Final

Results

RankAthleteNationTime
Gold medal icon.svg Delfo Cabrera Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina 2:34:51.6
Silver medal icon.svg Tom Richards Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 2:35:07.6
Bronze medal icon.svg Étienne Gailly Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 2:35:33.6
4 Johannes Coleman Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 2:36:06.0
5 Eusebio Guiñez Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina 2:36:36.0
6 Syd Luyt Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 2:38:11.0
7 Gustav Östling Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 2:38:40.6
8 John Systad Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 2:38:41.0
9 Armando Sensini Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina 2:39:30.0
10 Henning Larsen Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 2:41:22.0
11 Viljo Heino Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 2:41:32.0
12 Anders Melin Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 2:42:20.0
13 Jussi Kurikkala Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 2:42:48.0
14 Ted Vogel US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 2:45:27.0
15 Enrique Inostroza Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 2:47:48.0
16 Lloyd Evans Flag of Canada (1921-1957).svg  Canada 2:48:07.0
17 Gérard Côté Flag of Canada (1921-1957).svg  Canada 2:48:31.0
18 Stylianos Kyriakides Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece 2:49:00.0
19 József Kiss Flag of Hungary (1946-1949, 1956-1957).svg  Hungary 2:50:20.0
20 Şevki Koru Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 2:51:07.0
21 Johnny Kelley US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 2:51:56.0
22 Kaspar Schiesser Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 2:52:09.0
23 Walter Fedorick Flag of Canada (1921-1957).svg  Canada 2:52:12.0
24 Ollie Manninen US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 2:56:49.0
25 Hong Jong-o Flag of South Korea (1945-1948).svg  South Korea 2:56:54.0
26 Paddy Mulvihill Flag of Ireland (3-2).svg  Ireland 2:57:35.0
27 Suh Yun-bok Flag of South Korea (1945-1948).svg  South Korea 2:59:36.0
28 Sven Håkansson Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 3:00:09.0
29 Jakob Jutz Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 3:03:55.0
30 Stan Jones Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 3:09:16.0
Salvatore Costantino Flag of Italy.svg  Italy DNF
Pierre Cousin Flag of France.svg  France DNF
Hans Frischknecht Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland DNF
Mikko Hietanen Flag of Finland.svg  Finland DNF
Jack Holden Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain DNF
René Josset Flag of France.svg  France DNF
Lou Wen-ngau Flag of the Republic of China.svg  Republic of China DNF
Arsène Piesset Flag of France.svg  France DNF
Athanasios Ragazos Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece DNF
Chhota Singh Flag of India.svg  India DNF
Choi Yun-chil Flag of South Korea (1945-1948).svg  South Korea DNF
José María BlayFlag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spain DNS
Charles HeirendtFlag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg DNS
István Simon Flag of Hungary (1946-1949, 1956-1957).svg  Hungary DNS

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Marathon, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  2. "Athletics at the 1948 London Summer Games: Men's Marathon". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2017.